What I'm Thinking About Today

"Whatever spark or gift I possess has been transmitted to Lucia," James Joyce once said of his troubled daughter, "and it has kindled a fire in her brain." Carl Jung, who treated Lucia for schizophrenia, described Lucia and her father as "two people going to the bottom of a river, one falling and the other diving."

Compulsive, troubling thoughts that burrow deep into your existence and expose your weaknesses and anxiety can be used to an artist's advantage or lead to anyone else's undoing.

It's possible to begin as the person diving, and at some point realize on your way down that you've lost all control and that you're now falling and unable to save yourself from a hideous fate.

Is it also possible to start out falling and somehow gain control and recover with a respectable dive before you hit bottom?